Creatively Thinking With Carolyn Botelho
Join Carolyn Botelho as she goes beneath the surface with local Creative Professionals on their practice, inspiration, and perspectives. Carolyn pulls you underneath the fabric of their creativity, where we discover how their genius of communicating in the Arts transforms, and translates into spectacular reality. What does their medium say about them?
What do they think of originality? Authenticity? In what moment of their creativity does their true passion sit? Is it in the imagination stage? Conceptualization? Or the Gallery or Stage? What are their feelings on Abstraction? Realism? Where are they seeing their career taking them in the next ten years? Do they have any political or social agendas with their Art?
Currently we are working on the Second Season where we go further into how Creative Professionals are incorporating their practice into mainstream society. How is their understanding of and practice pushing boundaries and developing their skills? How does the business side of being an Artist change being an Artist? Second season will be released soon!
Creatively Thinking With Carolyn Botelho
Laura Beaton Episode #14: Brush Paints A Harmony Of Styles
Describing her background as Scottish bagpipes and high tea Laura Beaton's creative practice fuses distinctly Asian cultural styles with her Canadian heritage to create an authenticity that is uniquely her own.
Join me as we take a deep dive on where Laura found her initial inspiration, how it has transformed over the years, and what continues to motivate her creative practice. This combination of techniques and painting skills has an intense structure rooted in perfectionism.
How has Laura found her trajectory in the Art World? Has her distinguished skills resonated locally and in China? How has calligraphy played a part in her practice? Does she illustrate books with her Chinese brush paintings?
Enjoy more of Laura Beaton art: https://www.laurabeaton.com/
Podcast Credits:
Sound Effects from Pixby
Audio Links from https://freemusicarchive.org/
Podcast by Carolyn Botelho
Alan K. Joe – Author of ‘Of Ox and Unicorn’
Asian Arts & Culture Trust - www.aact.community/about/about-aact
Mississauga Arts Council - https://www.mississaugaartscouncil.com/
Sumi-e Artists of Canada - https://www.sumieartistsofcanada.org/
International Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Paint Society, North America https://www.iccpsna.com/
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Creatively Thinking podcast. Join Carolyn Botelho as she uncovers the inspirations behind some incredibly creative minds that are orbiting our local communities. Hi Laura Beaton, nice to finally meet you, well digitally anyways.
I found you on LinkedIn of all places, your work and background intrigued me. You are an award-winning visual artist specializing in Suomi Chinese brush painting. I like to ask every artist, what made you choose this path as a career? Was it working with your hands, expressing your emotional insights, or something else? Thank you Carolyn, I appreciate this opportunity.
You know, as a kid, my mom asked me what I wanted to do for a career, and of course even though I'd never had an art lesson, I told her I wanted to be an artist. It did not go over well with her, you know, she simply replied, you'll never make a living as an artist, pick something else, and it was quite matter-of-fact the way she said it. Yet, I just innately recognized that I wanted to be an artist.
And my dad, he was a master tradesman, and at that time, what that meant is he held more than one trade ticket or master license. He actually was a master of five trades. So you can imagine the number of tools in our basement at any given time.
So and today that is virtually unheard of. So I grew up around tools, working with my hands, and loving every minute. I was the son he did not have.
That's funny. In your credentials, you share how your father bought your mother an antique tea wagon in Toronto's Chinatown when you were a child. Can you expand on how it inspired you to love this type of art, and how it continues to excite and motivate you creatively? You know, Carolyn, being raised in the 60s in a middle-class family, and yes, I know I'm giving away my age, I never thought that traveling halfway around the world to see China would ever be possible.
So what does one do, living in Toronto at that time, and even today, you visit each cultural area of this great city of Toronto, and you just start exploring and learning. My love of this art form, the Chinese art form in particular, was first based on the food of Chinatown, and of course, in my life, everything's based on food. You know, visiting the many stores, eating in a restaurant such as Michi Gardens, a famous restaurant, seeing the explosion of colors in absolutely everything, the decor, the menus, the table settings.
You know, I just really felt a lot. So when my dad purchased the tea wagon with the Chinese art, it just sparked a level of curiosity and set me on a journey that continues to this day. And in fact, my move seal for my Chinese and Japanese art is life journey.
Well, what was that last word you said? Life journey. Oh, no, no, not the last word, but you said something before that about symbolism or something. I didn't I didn't quite hear it.
Oh, in fact, my mood seal. Oh, OK. I was like, what is? Yeah, I'm like, could you could you explain that a little bit more? Because I'm like, hmm.
A mood seal with Chinese and Japanese art, you affix a seal with your name on it. It's called a hanko. And then you have additional seals to reflect who you are as an artist.
And at the time that you earn your seal, you can elect whatever your mood seal means to you, the meaning. And for me, this art form just represents a life's journey, right? That's what life is. It's constantly moving.
Mm hmm. Do you see similarities between your heritage in Scotland and Chinese culture? Is there a connection that resonates with you that may not be apparent to an average viewer? Has practicing this art form opened up new avenues to explore Chinese heritage you weren't aware of before? Well, I'm grinning right now, and I know you can't see this. I definitely see a mutual love of scotch.
That goes back. What can I say? My grandfather would be proud at this moment. Well, I do not have any Chinese heritage.
Many of my Chinese friends tell me I must have been Chinese in a past life. In 2022, I received an honorarium from the Asian Arts and Culture Trust in Toronto to work with an Asian elder called Alan Zhou, J-O-E. I was commissioned to create a painting based on his immigrant story and journey to Canada.
I really got lucky, as Alan had written his memoir of Ox and Unicorn. It's a fascinating read. It was his journey of being born in China just before the start of World War Two, surviving the Japanese invasion and immigrating to Canada as a teen and then becoming a dental surgeon at SickKids Hospital.
For me, the pivotal point in Alan's life was as a hungry child living in fear during World War Two, where he saw a big white man with bright red hair and beard wearing a skirt. He was terrified. He was frightened until that same man gave him a shiny red apple.
It was that moment in time that Alan realized that not all foreigners were to be feared. A valid story. Of course, that man was Scottish, and I immediately felt a kindred spirit with Alan as he told the story.
Scotland was Alan's first vacation upon graduating from the University of Toronto, where he earned his degree in endodontic surgery. And talk about synchronicity of life. During Alan's studies at the University of Toronto during the 60s, he was a waiter at Litchi Gardens during the times I ate there with my family.
We truly believe our paths must have crossed at this restaurant many years ago. Wow, that is impressive. And it's quite astonishing that we met due to my Chinese art practice.
Can you explain to the audience the difference between faux finishing painting and Chinese brush painting? Was this a prelude to your work in abstractions and multimedia, or was it congruent? Can you tease out the moments in your life when your specific media became your speciality? I started a faux finishing business in the 90s, and faux is the word I use to describe something means fake, fake finishing. So, for example, I can paint a wall to appear any type of marble I choose. The rules are quite simple, and that as long as what I paint is accurate to the subject matter, then all should be fine.
You know, for example, Carrara marble looks quite different from green marble. So as long as I get the appropriate details of each marble correct, then I can be quite successful. Unfortunately, due to a health issue, I had to close the faux finishing business simply because of its physicality.
During various subsequent health recovery periods, I took up Chinese brush painting. And the key things about that art form is I was taught how to meditate and to do it every time before I started painting. Now, contrary to faux finishing, Chinese brush painting absolutely demands that rules be followed, even when they're not obvious to the viewer.
And there are so many rules, it's unbelievable. Before anything is ever painted, one must be able to execute the various types of brush strokes, styles, for example, boneless or spontaneous versus detail and the types of rice papers used and the types of brushes to use for each, depending on the subject matter. Posture is everything as is breathing.
I've never had my posture corrected so many times when I take a class. And do you know, it literally took me one year to learn how to properly load a brush for Chinese brush painting. It is not easy to get the perfect ratio of ink to water for the type of stroke being used.
Very difficult. Wow, that does sound like a lot to be able to manage. Yes.
With this technique. Oh, my. And if I may, Michelangelo, his apprentices, they had to take a full year to learn how to sharpen his pencils before they were allowed to even use them.
Wow. Yeah, that's just. Oh, yeah, there's a there's a big process.
Yeah, there's a there's a big process to to just mastering the skills to. Yes. To be able to.
Yeah. To be able to follow through with the painting. Yes.
And the practice. When you work with Chinese brush painting, is there only one way you can approach it with the specific mediums you use or can you approach it with some of the skills you have learned with other painting mediums? Can being a Canadian artist show through your influences? In other words, can these two styles merge or work together in your artworks? I do prefer to paint in the mornings. I love the morning light.
And before I start painting, regardless of the medium, I do meditate for about 10 to 15 minutes. I simply calm my mind and body. Now, depending on the medium, I limit my coffee intake to either one or two cups of coffee.
And here's why. If I'm painting something that requires very smooth lines and lots of control, then only one coffee and it has to be a small coffee. If I'm painting something quite the opposite and I and I want to have my hand jitter and whatnot, then two coffees are an asset.
It really is a bonus. I definitely incorporate each style of painting in the mediums in which I paint, which really does enhance the other. And I have found that merging the styles of Japanese and Chinese, and there is a difference between those two, definitely works for me as an artist.
Incorporating Chinese or Japanese elements and practices in abstracts has worked well, but it would not be obvious to the viewer. They would simply know that something is different and it's calm. Yeah, that wouldn't be something easily recognizable, I wouldn't think.
No. And we'll be right back. When looking at your work, I see the Canadian landscape, shadows of what the Group of Seven laid out for us so many years ago.
However, inside those lines and forms are the Sumi brush painting style. Can you expand on how your work is Canadianized, as well as how your art opens the door for people? As a kid, I met A.Y. Jackson at the McMichael Art Gallery and told him what my mother had said about me never making a living as an artist. He laughed and told me my mother was wise, but I should definitely follow my dreams.
That meeting influenced me. I tried to incorporate the beauty of the Canadian landscape while infusing those paintings with a Zen-like feeling. Again, it comes back to that sense of calm.
For me, being a third generation Canadian, I feel blessed with the multiculturalism of Canada, and I really do value the significance of Clayson being Canadian. Incorporating Chinese, Japanese and North American art practice into one is somewhat multicultural, which to me says I am Canadian. And as a result, the Chinese and Japanese art forms are now more mainstream.
As an aside to the above to the above question, I'm not sure if you'll have already sort of answered this, but how has the Asian community reacted to your paintings as well as the rest of the art community? Was there a sense of awkwardness at first? Then your talent, background and knowledge proved value? When I first started taking lessons and discovered I had a bit of talent for Chinese brush painting, I was told not to get too excited about it as a career because I'm not Chinese or Japanese. My art could never be fully appreciated in North America. In large part, that was due to the limited North American knowledge and understandings of these art forms and knowing what makes a painting in these mediums excellent versus awful.
Most of my fellow students at that time were non-Asian, so each of us valued the lessons offered. And my very first exhibition of Chinese brush painting was in 2015 at the Visual Arts Mississauga Annual Art in the Park. Not only was this the first time that Chinese brush painting was exhibited in this venue, it was exhibited by a non-Asian person.
Not until my 2018 exhibition in China had my photo been taken so many times by Chinese people not believing and yet supportive of my art, I was able to open doors and introduce this art form to individuals other than those of Chinese or Japanese heritage. And in fact, in 2017, I won the prestigious Marty's Award from the Mississauga Arts Council for the established visual artist. And it was the first time in the 30 plus history of those awards that a visual artist had ever been nominated, let alone won for Chinese brush painting.
Wow. Yeah, yeah. I was really proud of that.
That is something to be proud of for sure. When you work with abstract mixed mediums, do you see this as separate to your Chinese brush painting style or are they intrinsic to your overall technique? In other words, you primarily paint with a style that is unique to your sense of fusion? It's a little bit of both. When I first started exhibiting, I was really, really green and exhibited a little bit of everything, literally in one booth.
And so somebody walked by and said, wow, this is great. What group is this? So it was just me. And I said, well, how many split personalities do you have? But there are simply so many rules for Chinese and Japanese art that abstracts enable me to literally paint outside the lines.
If I do not like a painting or any part of it, I may simply paint over it. There's really no stress at all relative to abstracts. However, that is definitely not the case with Chinese or Japanese art where I must start over.
And in fact, I have a number of pieces where I spent well over 25 hours on a single painting, only to have to start over due to a serious and irreversible error. Oh, my. Yeah, that's one way of putting it.
Yeah, like, wow, that's just just just one error and you can't just paint over it. You can't just correct. That's you have to just completely start fresh.
Wow. Yeah, yeah. You can't correct it on rice paper.
Oh, yeah, that's true. Right. It's sort of like watercolor paper.
Right. Or even even more delicate, I would think. Yeah, yeah.
Oh, it's much more delicate than watercolor paper. And rice paper isn't made out of rice, it's made out of bamboo or wood or mulberry tree. How did the role of the director of the North American branch of the International Chinese Calligraphy and Ink Painting Society, ICCPS, whoa, that's a mouthful, come about? I saw that you were asked to fill this position.
Can you expand on how they know of you as an artist? I had joined this group as an artist in 2021 and subsequently won a few awards of excellence from their Tokyo shows. As we all know, there are never enough volunteers for most groups of any type, and the work typically falls on a very few people. During that time period, I provided a bit of admin support, providing some suggestions on how to streamline a few things.
And when the North American president stepped down, she recommended me as a replacement to head office in Tokyo. Wow. Yes, in a way, sometimes it's who you know, right? Well, and I also have a very strong business background.
So I think that really shone through. And I do believe arts groups need to be run more as businesses than they do anything else. Yes, yes.
There's a lot of administrative stuff that needs to be taken care of with our groups, for sure. Yes. When working with both Sumi Chinese brush painting and abstract art, how is it that you are able to combine these two unique styles? Is this what you identify as Canadianized, or does it go beyond that? Is it more of a spiritual comprehension that can't be put into words? Part of that answer is in my use of the Asian techniques for Canadian themes, such as such as the Rockies from B.C. to the icebergs of Newfoundland.
One of the reasons I was invited to exhibit in China was to show that the Asian techniques can be used beyond what was previously considered. It is very important when painting Canadian landscapes or themes that I incorporate an Asian element. Anything from a tree painted in a Sumi style or how I paint the clouds or mountains or even animals.
The key issue for any landscape is for the viewer to find a treasure. And this is really important in the Chinese art style, something that would not be obvious for more than a foot away from a painting. You know, Chinese art demands that the viewer get up close and personal with it, literally within inches to study the painting.
You should always find a number of treasures or things that you would not be able to see unless you were that close. And I love that about the art form. Yeah, there's such detail that you can really appreciate when you're when you're when you're really up close and personal with them.
Yeah. When you identify your influences as Scottish bagpipes, high tea and an antique tea wagon, were there any other movements or techniques over the years that inspired you to add them to your creative toolbox as an artist? Looking back to my full finishing business in the 90s, where I created just some pretty neat finishes for walls. I just love to play and experiment with paint, ink, you name it.
And my customers love the fact that they had something truly unique in their homes or offices and it could not be replicated. And through my artistic practice today, I definitely play with those inks and paints to create that uniqueness. And I've learned so much simply because I've taken the time to experiment, to see what works, what doesn't work, and to really think about what could be possible.
And then again, just experiment. Yeah, that's key, right? Yes, yes, yes. Just experiment, don't be afraid to fail with whatever medium you're using, right? Well, and that's the beauty of the abstracts.
If you don't like it, you just paint over it. There is no stress. And with the Chinese art and the Japanese art, if I don't like it, you just don't show anybody.
What's the big deal? I could see your landscapes and abstracts as illustrations. Have you ever had your work used as illustrations for book covers or any other print media? Has this or your exhibitions had any positive influence socially, culturally or politically? Well, that's a big question at the end. Yes, it is.
So far, I've not had the opportunity to work with authors in this way to illustrate, but it's definitely something I would consider. I think as an artist, I am definitely influencing art, both culturally and politically. I am able, through my art, to help lower the rhetoric, perhaps say to people, huh, I never thought of it that way before.
I never looked at it that way before. And that's the purpose of every artist, by the way, is to influence socially. There's a lot of symbolism in my art that Chinese and Japanese and actually Indian artists would recognize.
There is some overlap in perspective between Indian art and Japanese and Asian art, Chinese art. But I think just being able to be at the table, being able to have a conversation that is calm, relaxing, ideally over some great Chinese food. And yeah, I'm happy, happy, happy.
That's great. Yeah, that's just it's just amazing how you're able to fuse these styles and just, as you said, be at the table and just understand it and be a part of it. It's great.
Thank you very much. All right. Well, we got through all our questions really quickly today.
That's actually the end of the interview. So if there's anything else you'd like to mention about your artwork, now's the time. Oh, thank you.
Aside from the fact I can be reached at LauraBeaton.com and I am available. I do a lot of guest speaking and I'm just really grateful, Carolyn, for this opportunity to share my art with you and your audience. I wish you nothing but the best.
Thank you very much. I will get this off to you as soon as possible and get it out there with the public and have some more sort of influences to be shared with the public. But how you're able to fuse these styles, it's just quite remarkable.
Thank you very much. All right. So thanks again.
And we'll say goodbye. Yeah. All right.
Thank you. Thank you, Laura. Take care.
You too. OK. You're welcome.
Bye. Bye bye. Join me next time as I go down another rabbit hole with another creative professional on their insights, their inspirations and their ingenuity.